VB - Perspective On The Loss To SMU

[vantheman1976]

Well....it happened....Pitt lost a match.....and to an SMU team that they effectively destroyed just 3 days earlier

• The explanation is pretty simple....we made 45 errors (about 4 more/set than expected) and scored only 75 points (nearly 3 pts/set less than expected)
• It all came crashing down in set 4.....when it appeared we were on a glide path to another win after soundly winning set 3 by a 25 - 13 margin
• SMU won set 4 because Pitt had 10 errors....SMU only scored 15 points in set 4.
• Look at it this way.....Pitt on average gives back about 6 pts/set due to errors....not 10 pts/set like today
• We lost set 4 by a score of 25 - 23. Just 2 less errors....8 instead of 10....and we win....match over
• Or looked at another way....Babcock and Stafford were held to a combined 2 points/set under their average for the match....also enough to win that crucial 4th set.

SMU gets credit for a great game plan and coming back after being whacked in set 3. In set 5.....SMU was a hitting machine....11 points to Pitt's 6. Errors were essentially even....Pitt committed 4....SMU 3. We now return home for 4 straight home matches....2 of which are Louisville and Stanford. Fisher and his staff will be ready. This will be a learning experience.....and it will be a valuable one.

PS.....big shout out to the 6 - 0 Pitt Panther football team!

 

[mike412]

I switched back and forth between the FB game and this game in the last two sets, where there was overlap, but it appeared to me that it was a combination of better play than on Wednesday from SMU and many more errors by Pitt that caused the loss.

I give a lot of credit to the SMU coach for having her team ready to play.

It would have been unreasonable to expect Babcock to have another match like she had on Wednesday with 18 kills and 12 aces. And, she didn’t. But, I think what killed the team was slow starts, particularly in sets 4 and 5.

Even on Wednesday, they got off to slow starts in all three sets, trailing in everyone. But, never by the margins they trailed by in sets 4 and 5. They simply never came back from the slow starts in the final two sets. The deciding fifth set was never really a contest. There wasn’t a moment after we initially got behind 4 or 5 to 1 when I thought Pitt could come back.

Errors were a big part of the problem, and I wonder how much of that was due to tactical changes made by SMU. On Wednesday night, Babcock and Stafford made a lot of kills right into the middle of the court where there was no defender. That didn’t happen yesterday. Also, Stafford had a few kills off the hands of SMU blockers. Yesterday their hands got out of the way and those were errors. I don’t know if that was coaching or better concentration.

I thought SMU blocked much better than they did on Wednesday, and we should have expected that. They had more blocks per set than we did going into these two matches.

Did Kelley have a kill in the final two sets? I don’t remember one. I thought she was very ineffective and would liked to have seen more of Jones.

We truly didn’t look like the same team in Sets 4 and 5 last night. After the easy win in Set 3, I was hoping we would get off to a hot start in Set 4 and put the match away. Instead, they had the hot start, and, although we had two or three mini-rallies to get closer, they always were in control. Set 5 was never in doubt. They got a hot start and in a set only up to 15, it was effectively over.

 

[RightSaidTed]

Thanks for the write ups, guys. Was at the football game and couldn’t watch. Obviously other coaches will watch this tape and try to copy SMU’s plan, but I’m confident Fish will adjust and have his team ready. Excited to watch them respond at home.

 

[vantheman1976]

I switched back and forth between the FB game and this game in the last two sets, where there was overlap, but it appeared to me that it was a combination of better play than on Wednesday from SMU and many more errors by Pitt that caused the loss.

I give a lot of credit to the SMU coach for having her team ready to play.

It would have been unreasonable to expect Babcock to have another match like she had on Wednesday with 18 kills and 12 aces. And, she didn’t. But, I think what killed the team was slow starts, particularly in sets 4 and 5.

Even on Wednesday, they got off to slow starts in all three sets, trailing in everyone. But, never by the margins they trailed by in sets 4 and 5. They simply never came back from the slow starts in the final two sets. The deciding fifth set was never really a contest. There wasn’t a moment after we initially got behind 4 or 5 to 1 when I thought Pitt could come back.

Errors were a big part of the problem, and I wonder how much of that was due to tactical changes made by SMU. On Wednesday night, Babcock and Stafford made a lot of kills right into the middle of the court where there was no defender. That didn’t happen yesterday. Also, Stafford had a few kills off the hands of SMU blockers. Yesterday their hands got out of the way and those were errors. I don’t know if that was coaching or better concentration.

I thought SMU blocked much better than they did on Wednesday, and we should have expected that. They had more blocks per set than we did going into these two matches.

Did Kelley have a kill in the final two sets? I don’t remember one. I thought she was very ineffective and would liked to have seen more of Jones.

We truly didn’t look like the same team in Sets 4 and 5 last night. After the easy win in Set 3, I was hoping we would get off to a hot start in Set 4 and put the match away. Instead, they had the hot start, and, although we had two or three mini-rallies to get closer, they always were in control. Set 5 was never in doubt. They got a hot start and in a set only up to 15, it was effectively over.

• On your point...."credit to the SMU coach'"...no doubt about that. She had her team ready and they fought back as hard as any team I've seen.
• On the "slow start in sets 4 and 5"......yes. Pitt was down 5 to 6 points in set 4 until they finally began to catch up with a tie score of 12 - 12. They took a 15 - 14 lead and promptly fell behind 16 - 14.....and never led again in the set.
• The 2 point loss was deflating and Pitt could not recover.....all momentum shifted to SMU. I remember thinking....this is really bad
• In set 5....Pitt never led once. We were on the ropes from the 1st kill by SMU.
• Kelley had 4 kills in set 4.....only 1 in set 5

I can't understand how we clobber SMU in set 3.....win by 12 points.....then come out completely flat in set 4 and give SMU 10 of their 25 points because of errors to win set 4. Again....credit to SMU....their coaches and team for pulling this upset. Pitt's practices this week should be pretty interesting!

 

[jimsavio]

I’m not sure who had the worst Saturday, Holstein or Fairbanks. It happens, everyone has a bad day. They will both bounce back.

 

[runshadyrun]

I thought smu was defending torey and olivia hard on the edges with two blockers. Might have been better to attack the middle with bre

 

[singregardless]

Thanks for the write ups, guys. Was at the football game and couldn’t watch. Obviously other coaches will watch this tape and try to copy SMU’s plan, but I’m confident Fish will adjust and have his team ready. Excited to watch them respond at home.

They can try to copy it but no one serves like SMU.

Wasn’t thrilled about SMU joining the ACC, but I gotta hand it to her - Erger is a star in the making.

Gonna be a real problem once she has some time to recruit off of P4 success.

 

[vantheman1976]

They can try to copy it but no one serves like SMU.

Wasn’t thrilled about SMU joining the ACC, but I gotta hand it to her - Erger is a star in the making.

Gonna be a real problem once she has some time to recruit off of P4 success.

As you said....Erger is a star in the making. Here is her postgame interview after defeating Pitt.....very impressive IMO.

 

[Chaos]

I’m not sure who had the worst Saturday, Holstein or Fairbanks. It happens, everyone has a bad day. They will both bounce back.

I didn't think Fairbanks had a great day either while I was watching, but the camera angle was so high, I wasn't sure. I was sure of her 3 serving errors though-those were tough. Also, if you always win in 3 sets, are you in good enough shape to play 5? I know they're young and fit, but it could make a difference. H2P

 

[pittdan77]

Gonna be a real problem once she has some time to recruit off of P4 success.

It shouldn't take very long. There are a lot of good junior volleyball players in Texas.

 

[pittdan77]

Well....it happened....Pitt lost a match.....and to an SMU team that they effectively destroyed just 3 days earlier

• The explanation is pretty simple....we made 45 errors (about 4 more/set than expected) and scored only 75 points (nearly 3 pts/set less than expected)
• It all came crashing down in set 4.....when it appeared we were on a glide path to another win after soundly winning set 3 by a 25 - 13 margin
• SMU won set 4 because Pitt had 10 errors....SMU only scored 15 points in set 4.
• Look at it this way.....Pitt on average gives back about 6 pts/set due to errors....not 10 pts/set like today
• We lost set 4 by a score of 25 - 23. Just 2 less errors....8 instead of 10....and we win....match over
• Or looked at another way....Babcock and Stafford were held to a combined 2 points/set under their average for the match....also enough to win that crucial 4th set.

SMU gets credit for a great game plan and coming back after being whacked in set 3. In set 5.....SMU was a hitting machine....11 points to Pitt's 6. Errors were essentially even....Pitt committed 4....SMU 3. We now return home for 4 straight home matches....2 of which are Louisville and Stanford. Fisher and his staff will be ready. This will be a learning experience.....and it will be a valuable one.

PS.....big shout out to the 6 - 0 Pitt Panther football team!

I didn't get to watch the game. Briefly looked at the stats and my only thought was, it be like that sometimes. They were due for a game like that. Happens to most teams over the course of a season. Probably not going to win a lot of games where you have 25 hitting errors and a dozen service errors. The fact they did that and it still took five sets to lose is pretty wild.

 

[vantheman1976]

I didn't get to watch the game. Briefly looked at the stats and my only thought was, it be like that sometimes. They were due for a game like that. Happens to most teams over the course of a season. Probably not going to win a lot of games where you have 25 hitting errors and a dozen service errors. The fact they did that and it still took five sets to lose is pretty wild.

As you said...."They were due for a game like that. Happens to most teams over the course of a season". It's all in the rear view mirror now. We are still #1....as we should be. This week.....Cal and Stanford....at the Fitz. If there are any naysayers "I told you so....Pitt isn't a national contender".....that nonsense can be dampened by two more wins by Pitt this week.